Cabaret

A filmed stage performance of the 1993 London revival. Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall) directed this new production for the Donmar Warehouse in London’s West End. It starred Jane Horrocks as Sally, Adam Godley as Cliff, Alan Cumming as the Emcee and Sara Kestelman as Fräulein Schneider. Cumming received an Olivier Award nomination for his performance and Kestelman won the Olivier for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical. Mendes’s conception was very different from either the original production or the conventional first revival. The most significant change was the character of the Emcee. The role, as played by Joel Grey in both prior incarnations, was an asexual, edgy character dressed in a tuxedo with rouged cheeks. Alan Cumming’s portrayal was highly sexualized, as he wore suspenders (i.e. braces) around his crotch and red paint on his nipples.